First time annealing 300 Blackout brass. How'd I do?

[GravelRider]

These are freshly converted .223 to .300 Blackout brass, mixed head stamps (though I did sort to ensure 'good' brass for .300 Blackout). After ruining a few cases getting the timing down, I settled on five seconds, as that was when I started to see the color change in the brass, and right before the bright yellow flame.



I did these with a drill and torch like this (though the case was perpendicular to the flame, and about an inch away).



I'm not able to get as much consistency as I'd like this way, so I placed an order for an Annealeez. I converted a thousand .223 cases, so I'll wait until the Annealeez comes in to anneal all of those. But I want to develop a load while I'm waiting, so I did these twenty cases, that I'm going to get loaded up to chrono on Tuesday.

How do they look?

And do I need to size the cases again after annealing?

 

[edwardware]

Surficial oxidation is a really imprecise gauge. . . nearly useless. No one will know how you did until we know how many reloads you get without case mouth splitting.

If you succeeded, they'll wear out before splitting.

 

[Blue68f100]

Different brass allow will have different surface oxidation, making the color band different. Looks like you were pointing the heat toward the base, should be away from the base. A few look over cooked but it's hard to tell without the right equipment. You should not have any scaling on the inside necks. You applied enough heat when the torch flame starts to change to yellow. If these still need to be sized down to final size for loading, you may be able to tell on how much spring back you get.

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

I only anneal my 270 brass but the process is the same. Even with automation all we have to go by is color change. I use the drill and torch method too. Not the best or accurate way but that's all I can do. I usually start low on the time and adjust up until the color changes, then back off a second or two. So far that approach has worked well for me. As stated above, keep the heat at the neck and shoulder.

 

[TEXASJD]

I use to do it that way until I got my Annealeez, it worked but not vary accurate. You will find some brass works better than others due to thickness. 1680 and 110Vmax have worked well for me along with CFE black.

 

[JFrank]

These are freshly converted .223 to .300 Blackout brass, mixed head stamps (though I did sort to ensure 'good' brass for .300 Blackout). After ruining a few cases getting the timing down, I settled on five seconds, as that was when I started to see the color change in the brass, and right before the bright yellow flame.

View attachment 1035270

I did these with a drill and torch like this (though the case was perpendicular to the flame, and about an inch away).

View attachment 1035271

I'm not able to get as much consistency as I'd like this way, so I placed an order for an Annealeez. I converted a thousand .223 cases, so I'll wait until the Annealeez comes in to anneal all of those. But I want to develop a load while I'm waiting, so I did these twenty cases, that I'm going to get loaded up to chrono on Tuesday.

How do they look?

And do I need to size the cases again after annealing?

If you must anneal' do it prior to sizing as the point is to soften the brass before rather than after the deed.

 

[GravelRider]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

If you must anneal' do it prior to sizing as the point is to soften the brass before rather than after the deed.

Makes sense. In the future I'll definitely anneal first. I already formed all of the cases, so I can't go back. After annealing the newly formed brass, should I resize again? In other words, does annealing change the size of the case at all?

 

[greyling22]

it shouldn't change the case size. and I wouldn't go back and anneal them again before firing. all annealing does is soften the brass so it won't split. I'm not going to lie though, blackout is easy enough to make and form, I wouldn't bother to anneal it. form it, shoot it till is splits. you will probably lose it before you shoot it out.

 

[GravelRider]

it shouldn't change the case size. and I wouldn't go back and anneal them again before firing. all annealing does is soften the brass so it won't split. I'm not going to lie though, blackout is easy enough to make and form, I wouldn't bother to anneal it. form it, shoot it till is splits. you will probably lose it before you shoot it out.

I'm not going to anneal it again. I was just debating sizing it again... But now that I think about it, I'm going to be loading these in my Dillon 650 (after working up a load on my turret press), so it won't take any extra effort to resize again, so I might as well do it.

 

[1911JAS]

I anneal 300 blackout and 22 hornet using the finger method. Holding the base of the case and manually turning in the flame. Then drop in water. It is only in the flame for a few seconds. Any longer and my fingers tell me. It has been successful for me. I loose more brass than I see split casses.

 

[Blue68f100]

I'm not going to anneal it again. I was just debating sizing it again... But now that I think about it, I'm going to be loading these in my Dillon 650 (after working up a load on my turret press), so it won't take any extra effort to resize again, so I might as well do it.

Wont hurt a thing. I do it some times if I'm cutting the necks down so the wall thickness is all the same.

Get a hold of some Tempilaq paint, 425F/750F. You apply this to the inside the neck. And watch for it to turn WET, glossy. Then your done. With the tempilaq on the inside it will indicated you have soaked all the way threw the wall thickness. After doing this a few times you will learn how to setup correctly. Does not matter weather it's a auto machine or doing it by hand.

 

[GravelRider]

Thanks everyone. I've got 12 test subsonic rounds loaded, but I'm still waiting on the Lee factory crimp die to come in. I am using a Hornady match die set that I just can't get the crimp set reliably on. I've been reloading for about 15 years and over 20 different calibers, and have never had any issues with crimp until this one. When I'm screwing the die in, I can't feel any resistance to indicate it's made contact with the case mouth. Once I feel contact, it's already over-crimped. I've backed it off little at a time until I have a decent crimp, but any variations in size lead to buckled shoulders, and there is very little variation (though I am using mixed brass), as I trimmed every piece. When I back it off further, I have some without enough crimp. I've never ran into this before. I thought maybe the cases were over-annealed, and this was causing the issues, but I had the same problem test-fitting some unannealed brass. Regardless, I use a Lee factory crimp die on most calibers anyhow, as I feel they lead to a more consistent crimp, especially doing bulk pistol rounds that I don't trim.

The load is 11.9 gr H4198 under a 200 gr Berry's Bullet using Fiocchi magnum small rifle primers (all I have in SR).

 

[Blue68f100]

Too soft brass can cause all kinds of problems. The reason it's recommend to anneal prior to sizing. And you do not have to draw the brass back to full anneal state. You want some hardness in the brass.

Put a piece of brass in the press than raise the ram all the way up. Now start screwing down the seating die till you feel anything. Check to see if you reduced the ID from crimping. If not, 1/8T at a time till you get a light crimp.